Thursday, May 10, 2012

Even Playing Field

Can we play serious competitive paintball in the woods? I was pondering this after someone asked elsewhere if there will ever be any serious competitive leagues played on woodsball fields.

Team sports need to be played in an environment where both competing teams have, as close as possible, the same advantages and disadvantages. The term, "even playing field" comes to mind. Can a natural setting like a forest area ever be truly equal for both teams? I think not, and if not, how serious can we take the competition? How much did the variance of the field, play part in deciding the victor?

A game like soccer is played on a fairly level field, both sides of the field identical and the only real variable on any given day could be the direction and strength of the wind (which can affect the game considerably) and the location of the sun. Could competitive soccer be played on naturally formed sand dunes? Sure, but we would definitely take it a lot less seriously, so why bother? Can we play some recreational soccer on naturally built sand dunes? Sure, it might even be a lot of fun, but don't ask me to spend a lot of money and time practicing and take it very seriously.

1 comment:

Cheating is prevalent enough in speedball where refs are watching (got hit in the chest, dive to a bunker before they see it!). I can't imagine it would be any better in the woods where ref coverage would be more difficult. I see plenty of cheating in rec games, if there were actual prizes at events (beyond trophies, like cash/equipment) it would only get worse.

For the even playing field aspect, that could be mitigated to an extent by having teams play both sides of the field -- play a game, then swap starting sides. Although even this would give the team that started on the 'good' side an advantage -- they'd win the 1st game and see what didn't work well for the other team on the other side for the 2nd game. Home field advantage would also be huge -- the home team would have a much better handle on the blind spots, good/bad bunkers, areas where you get trapped, etc.

About Me

I am co-owner/operator of TNT Paintball in Victoria, BC, Canada. TNT Paintball is a recreational paintball facility marketing to people who want to experience fun while playing paintball.
My business partner and I started TNT Paintball in June 2001, after several years of organizing groups of friends and co-workers to play at other paintball fields. TNT Paintball has become the paintball field of choice for the majority of paintball customers in the area.
I am an advocate for paintball fields that promote fun and safety before all else.